Loki's Guard
by amythegirlwhoiswaiting
Summary: Or 'Loki Has Fun in Prison'. Explores the history of a background character from the movie.
1. Chapter 1

For those of you who have seen Thor: the Dark World, you know how Loki changes into a guard on multiple occasions? Well, it has become my headcanon that he sort of became friends with the guard that he consistently changes into. I dunno, what do you think?

* * *

_Day one..._ Loki thought miserably past the pain in his freshly sewn lips. The ache came back with a stab and Loki winced, tearing his thoughts back to the length of leather cord that tightly bound his lips shut. He longed to get it out, but he had no means to do so. He looked around his bare, pure white cell to confirm this. _This will be a fun stay_, he thought painfully as he sauntered to a side of the cell to sit with his legs drawn up and his head resting in his hands. He sat there for an amount of time that even he wasn't sure of, the ache in his lips pounding, driving him to madness already.

Finally, something broke the monotony. "Hey. Meal time," a man's tenor voice spoke. Loki looked up, glaring, to see a brown-haired Einherjar guard with a straggly goatee sliding a bowl of gruel and a meager portion of water into his cell through a narrow slot at the bottom where the magic allowed it. The guard raised an eyebrow at the glare that Loki was bestowing upon him, but he soon noticed the cord tying his lips shut. With a smirk that he soon tried to hide, the guard said in a light voice, "Enjoy your meal."

With that, he turned and walked off to deliver meals to the other prisoners in his watch, Loki glaring at his turned back the whole way. He turned his attention to the bowl sitting on the floor across the cell. Rolling his eyes, he chose to ignore it; there was no way to eat it anyway. It was at that point that he realized that as well as causing him constant, acute pain, the stitches over his mouth were meant to keep him from eating, as well as speaking. _Fine_, Loki thought, _They could do worse..._

He was soon visited by someone else, this time in the form of two guards. Neither of them were the same as the one who had brought the food. "Stand up and don't move," one of them said as the other deactivated the magic barrier. _How am I supposed to stand up if I'm also not supposed to move?_ Loki thought in his usual smartass way, but rose to stand in place anyway. The guards reached him and each took one of his arms, holding them behind his back as they led him from the cell. "It's time for your whipping," one said with cruel, vindictive pleasure clearly written on his face. _My what?_ Loki thought frantically, trying to remember when Odin had mentioned that during his poor excuse for a trial. He must have said it during one of the moments that Loki hadn't been paying attention. His eyes filled with trepidation as he was forced down the hall. This he wasn't looking forward to...

* * *

Yeah, yeah, I know that he didn't have his lips sewn shut or receive whippings in the movie, but you know what? I DO WHAT I WANT.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ow, that stings," Loki muttered in a raspy voice, being able to speak for the first time in a few weeks, as he tried to soothe his scarred lips. As many people in Asgard suspected, Loki did enjoy hearing the sound of his own voice and he wasn't ashamed to admit it. He cleared his dry throat, wishing for some water, truly wishing he had taken Tony Stark up on his offer for refreshment when he was given it. "No, don't take the drink, Loki," he said, mocking himself, "Try to take over Midgard instead! Because that ended so well..."

He was sitting cross-legged on the floor of his cell, resting his chin in the palm of one hand. It was one of the only bearable ways to sit; any other way made the cuts from the lashings to his back ache. "Oh, Loki," he mocked again, shaking his head, "You were a king once. Now look at you. No drink, no comfort... and no food," he added, looking down as his stomach growled. He waited for the guard to come bring him his daily bowl of gruel, seeing as he would finally be able to eat it. The same guard who had brought him the meal the first day had been the one to bring the meal every day, every time accompanied by the taunting smirk and a mocking invitation to, "Enjoy your meal."

Today though, when he came, he said nothing. Loki watched him slide the food and water through the opening while he kept his eyes averted and remained silent. But Loki spoke up. "What? Afraid to taunt me now that I can retaliate?" he asked the guard's retreating back as he rose to retrieve the victuals. "What a cowardly way for an Asgardian soldier to behave," he called after him. The guard ignored him. Loki was somewhat disappointed, but retreated to the center of his cell to eat, muttering, "I'll get to him eventually."


	3. Chapter 3

The very next day, Loki was enjoying the respite that he had been given from his lashings. They had not come for him the day before and he sincerely hoped they would not return today either. He knew he couldn't possibly have been freed of them, but why they even allowed him time to recuperate was beyond him. He tried to work it out; he didn't exactly have anything better to do anyway. "What was different the last time..?" he wondered aloud as he paced the cell. He stopped in his tracks as he realized. "Thor came and cut the cord keeping my mouth bound..." he murmured. A slight twinge of guilt came to his conscience for a moment as he remembered his harsh words, but he staunchly stifled the emotion. "Couldn't have been him," he spat, thinking aloud, "Perhaps mother..?"

His thoughts were interrupted by his guard friend. "Ah, hello, my good man," he greeted amicably, walking right up to the center of the glass wall, "And how are you on this fine day?" Loki had decided that he would toy with this man, first by talking his ear off. But the guard totally ignored him once again, simply going to the side of the glass wall to slide the bowl and cup through, just as he had for the past few weeks. Without having missed a beat, Loki continued, "Well, you know, I actually don't know; is it a fine day? How is the weather out there on the outside? I enjoy the cold, but then I suppose that's to be expected from my kind. But really, fine, cool, crisp air is truly the best, would you not say?" Finally, the guard threw him an irritated glance before heading down the hallway. A surge of triumph made Loki grin as he continued talking, "Oh, must you go? Are you sure you won't stay? I do so enjoy your company." The guard kept walking and Loki called, "Okay, farewell for now, I enjoyed our talk!"


	4. Chapter 4

A few days later, Loki was hiding in wait behind the column closest to the direction that his guard usually came from to bring his meals. He literally had nothing else to do, and so decided to entertain himself by thinking of ways to play with his guard's mind. _This trick should be entertaining_, Loki thought, smirking to himself.

Finally, Loki heard his footsteps. He was sure they was the guard's because he was the only one who ever came through here, other than new prisoners, who usually came in a large herd. This pair of footsteps was alone. He made his body be overtaken by an illusion, and he stepped out to meet the guard face to face. The guard's eyes widened in surprise, his mouth falling open slightly too when he looked into the cell only to see himself looking back out at him. He watched the image of himself go to the slot of the cage and slide a bowl and cup through it before straightening up to stare at him in a challenging way. "Hey. Meal time," the duplicate said with a smirk, "Enjoy your meal."

The guard said nothing in reply, still shocked slightly. Loki removed the illusion covering his head so he appeared to be wearing the Einherjar armor, sans helmet. "Why don't you say that anymore?" Loki whined with a mock pout, "Don't you like me now that I can talk?" The real guard had recovered by now. His lips were pressed together and he stared straight ahead as he went to push Loki's meal through the slot in the glass roughly, spilling some water. He brushed through the illusionary food, making it disappear before walking away stiffly, accompanied by the sound of Loki's mocking laughter behind him.

* * *

Loki is great at making friends, huh?


	5. Chapter 5

Loki groaned slightly from his spot on the floor. He was lying on his stomach, the fresh cuts on his back somehow aching more painfully than they had been when he had the daily whippings. He had known that his freedom from the whippings couldn't last, and it hadn't. They had come for him earlier to receive an innumerable amount of lashes. He assumed that, somehow, the daily whippings had been reduced to weekly, deciding that he would keep track of the days to see if he could confirm this.

He lay his head against the floor, closing his eyes in agony. He supposed he should be grateful that the pain in his lips had dulled, but he was a bit too distracted at the moment to be thankful. Just then, he heard someone at the glass wall of his cell. He craned his neck and rolled his eye up to see that it was his guard. The guard just watched him for a moment before smirking. "I'd say 'don't move', but I can see that you're not going anywhere," he commented as he deactivated the magic of the barrier. Loki glared. "Do you make a habit of mocking others' pain?" he growled. The guard shrugged as he went to retrieve something behind him. "Sometimes," he replied.

Loki closed his eyes again, ignoring the guard until he heard the sound of a wooden something being set upon the floor of his cell. He opened his eyes again to see a cushioned wooden chair. He frowned, having his attention caught by the guard again as he carried in a small wooden table. "What's this?" he wondered aloud. "This," the guard said, setting the table down, "has all been sent by the queen." With that, he went off to retrieve the remaining furniture, leaving Loki lying there, consumed by guilt. Mother had provided him with everything that had been in his old room, including a bed, a mirror, even a rug, and, most importantly, a selection of books to entertain himself with. She was too kind to him, even after everything he had done.

Once the guard finished, he headed for the exit again, but Loki stopped him. "Wait," he requested, looking up. The guard stopped and turned around in a long-suffering way to look down at him. "What is your name?" Loki asked. The guard was taken aback, but thought no harm could come of such a small detail. "...Jonathan," he answered at last. Loki nodded before saying simply and heartfeltly, "Jonathan... Thank you." The guard paused a moment before nodding and turning to go. Loki held back his emotion until the guard had left him and replaced the magic barrier. He crawled to the bed, finding sweet relief, if only a small amount, for his aching back. _Thank you, mother_, he thought, closing his eyes as a tear slid down his cheek.

* * *

One does not simply have a Loki fic without mommy angst.


	6. Chapter 6

Jonathan was going about his day, doing his usual duties: standing watch in his section of Asgard's prison, shutting up any particularly difficult prisoners, taking care of any needs they had. His normal day continued when it came time for the prisoners' meal. He delivered them each their ration of food and water, coming upon no problems. Until he reached Loki's cell.

He was about to put Loki's ration into his cell when he did a double take at what was inside. The cell was trashed, bedsheets pulled off the bed, furniture smashed to pieces, even Loki's precious books lying scattered on the ground in various stages of disarray. Jonathan drew in a sharp intake of breath when he noticed Loki's body lying in what appeared to be a pool of blood. He dropped the cup and bowl he had been carrying and rushed to deactivate the magic barrier and run inside. Prisoners had been known to snap and go mad, destroying everything, including themselves, but never on his watch.

He stared down at Loki's body lying at his feet, panicking. That's when he heard from behind him, "Why, Jonathan, you do care." He whipped around to see... Loki? He just stood there smirking at him. Jonathan looked around him and quickly put the pieces together. He had been tricked. But he had no time to chastize himself for his stupidity. He immediately went on the defensive, drawing his sword and pointing it at Loki. "Don't move," he warned as he circled over to get between Loki and his escape.

But Loki hadn't even taken a single step towards the exit. He shrugged. "I wasn't going to," he responded, still grinning. Jonathan frowned in confusion. "Why do this, then?" he asked, gesturing at the scene of chaos behind Loki. Loki answered right away with a laugh, "Because it's fun." Jonathan had by now backed his way out of the cell, unharmed, and restored the magic barrier between it and him. He sheathed his sword, letting out a breath and staring at Loki as he made the illusion of destruction disappear to reveal everything the way it had been.

He suddenly remembered his duties and looked down at the mess of Loki's meal on the floor. "I'll... be back with your food," he muttered, going off to retrieve a fresh ration. He had been shaken. He wasn't sure what to think of Loki anymore. Why hadn't he escaped when he had the chance? Why was he toying with him? He soon pushed the thoughts aside though, returning to a soldier's mindset. That's who he was, and nothing more.


	7. Chapter 7

Loki had been in prison by now for a little under a year. He and Jonathan had struck up an odd sort of friendship, which neither would call a friendship. But still, they continued to snark back and forth when Jonathan brought Loki's meals, and Loki continued to try to trick Jonathan, but he soon wised up to the tricks and was able to spot them a mile away. They sometimes had actual conversations that were more than just a few words for each other. Loki was very glad of the much kinder company than the guards who took him away for his lashings, which he still received. He wondered whether he would ever be free of them.

One day when Jonathan brought Loki his meal, they were chatting when Loki suddenly asked, "Jonathan, why are you a prison guard? Someone as intelligent as you could surely merit higher standings than this." Jonathan went a bit quieter. He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and said convincingly, "It's what I wanted to do." But he didn't meet Loki's eyes when he said it, and Loki could tell there was something more that he was hiding. Still, Loki thanked him for the food as he went on his way, thinking that he would try to figure it out.


	8. Chapter 8

"You know," Loki started speaking as Jonathan approached with his meal a few weeks later, "I was reading some Midgardian literature that mother brought for me yesterday, and there was a person named Jonathan in the book. It made me realize that your name is of Midgardian origin." Jonathan continued going about his business, pushing the food through the slot in the glass wall. "Is it? How about that?" he replied disinterestedly. Loki watched him as he rose to look back at him in a challenging way.

Loki paused before asking quietly, "So which was it? Your mother or your father?" At once, Jonathan answered, "I don't know what you're talking about." He had a stubborn look on his face as if warning Loki away from this topic, but Loki just pressed on, "You're a half-blood. So? Which was it?" Jonathan stared up at Loki for a few moments. He was just a prisoner in his watch, but he was somebody to talk to. Possibly the only person who wouldn't judge him for this.

He sighed before giving an answer. "My father," he said, beginning his story, "My mother fell in love with him, but for him, it was just a one-time thing. He didn't want me when he found out, and left mother to raise me by herself. But that didn't stop her from naming me after him..." He had a distasteful look on his face when he finished. Loki thought this over. "Hm. Fathers can be disappointing like that. I can identify," he muttered.

At once, Jonathan snapped back to his soldier mentality. "I'm afraid I'm disinclined to agree with you there," he said automatically. Loki crossed his arms, a bemused look coming to his face. "Oh? And is that out of true loyalty? Or just duty to your king?" he challenged. Jonathan didn't say anything, but his brow creased in a frown. Loki smiled, hearing the answer in the silence. He went on, "So it would appear that we have both been denied higher places because of nothing but blood status." There was a long pause, but Jonathan eventually turned to take food to the other prisoners. Before he went though, Loki heard him mutter, "It would seem so."


End file.
